CPP denounces US increasing involvement in Oplan Bayanihan

THE Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) denounced the increasing US military intervention in local counterinsurgency operations as indicated in the agreements signed Thursday by the Philippine and US military officials.

Five new terms of reference were signed by Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff General Jessie Dellosa and US Pacific Command commander Admiral Samuel James Locklear in a series of meetings by the Philippine-US Mutual Defense Board and Security Engagement Board over the past few days.

Among others, the new agreements call for the creation of a technology and experimentation subcommittee on civil-military operations, a humanitarian and disaster response working group and the activation of a counter-terrorism working group.

“The Filipino people must demand the full disclosure of these agreements which indicate further deepening US involvement in the internal affairs of the Philippines, particularly in the implementation of the AFP’s Oplan Bayanihan war of suppression,” said the CPP said in a statement issued Saturday.

The communist party said the Oplan Bayanihan was designed by the AFP in accordance with the Counterinsurgency Guide of 2009 issued by the US State Department and is being implemented with the guidance of US military advisers.

“Involvement of US military forces in counter-insurgency planning and operations in the Philippines constitutes interference in the internal affairs of the Philippines,” the CPP stressed.